Board Meetings

Generally, the Lakota Board of
Education meets on the second and fourth Monday night of each month at 6:30 p.m. Unless otherwise indicated, regular meetings are held at Lakota Plains Junior School (5500 Princeton Road) in the Media Center.
Dates and locations for board meetings are tracked on the board meeting
calendar (at right), which is updated as any schedule changes are
announced.

Other special meetings an changes of time may be called, as needed, and will be announced consistent with Ohio law.

Executive Sessions

All school board meetings are
open to the public. During regular meetings, the board may call a
closed-door session, called an executive session. Ohio law allows
executive sessions for discussion only, and only to discuss personnel,
property purchases, pending legal action, employee negotiations, or
security. The board may not take any votes or other action during
executive sessions.

Public Comment

We welcome comments and
questions at board meetings. Public participants must be residents of
the school district or Lakota staff, and have a legitimate interest in
the action of the school board. Public comment is limited to three
minutes.

There is an opportunity at the beginning of each
regular board meeting for Lakota residents or staff to address the board. This is the time when
members of the public may direct concerns, suggestions, questions, or
comments to the Board.

During the "Public Comments" sections
of the meeting, local residents who would like to address the board are
invited to the podium. You will be asked to state your name and address,
and may speak for up to three minutes. The public participation
session is normally limited to 45 minutes.

To protect employees' rights to
privacy, the board does not hear complaints or comments about specific
employees in public session.

In general, the board oversees
district-wide issues and policies. If you have individual concerns about
a specific situation or student, it's best to first talk with the
teacher, building principal, or school administrator. Lakota's goal is
to work together with parents to resolve issues quickly, and staff
members closest to the situation are oftentimes better able to do so.

If appropriate, the
board will occasionally respond immediately to questions or comments,
but will often instruct the superintendent or treasurer to do further
research and report back to the board and resident. If you have specific
questions, you will receive a response either at the meeting or shortly
thereafter. The board wants to ensure that it is fully informed before
responding, and so if your questions are not addressed during the
meeting, this does not indicate a lack of interest on the board's part.
A response will be forthcoming.